@AZCardinals @SeatGeek Was the AI prompt “make a mascot zoom call video announcing the 2026 Arizona cardinals schedule, and make it devoid of any human emotion, personality, or comedy” ?
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The Cardinals' 2026 schedule release video drew hefty criticism from NFL fans.
The Arizona Cardinals‘ 2026 schedule was officially released on May 14. The team faces one of the most difficult schedules in the NFL, facing as many as seven teams that won a playoff game in 2025.
Every year, the social media teams for the 32 NFL teams release their own video. Here is the Cardinals’ video for 2026.
From the look of things, the Cardinals’ video looks like a Microsoft Teams call between all the mascots, both real and fake, with plenty of banter and chicanery to go around. Interestingly enough, three of the four teams on their schedule (Washington Commanders, New York Giants, and New York Jets) do not have a mascot.
Arizona’s schedule release video drew heavy ridicule, with the most common criticism describing the video as “AI Slop”.
@AZCardinals @SeatGeek Was the AI prompt “make a mascot zoom call video announcing the 2026 Arizona cardinals schedule, and make it devoid of any human emotion, personality, or comedy” ?
The Colts drew praise across the league for their video, which is a parody of The Simpsons’ intro.
Damon doesn’t cover the Cardinals, but his outlet (PHNX) does. His colleagues, Johnny Venerable and Bo Brack reacted to the schedule release on the PHNX Cardinals podcast.
The Arizona Republic‘s Theo Mackie noted the amount of engagement in the four NFC West’s schedule release video.
Current likes on schedule release videos:
Seahawks: 2.7k Rams: 2.3k 49ers: 1.4k Cardinals: 275
A small window into how each organization is viewed by its own fanbase right now.
The Cardinals got a fraction of the amount of likes compared to their division rivals. Their video got a tenth of the number of likes to the Seattle Seahawks, the defending NFL champions, in the first 30 minutes.
Ben Koo, editor and owner of Awful Announcing, shared a story about the Cardinals’ schedule release video. Koo offers an interesting theory behind the video.
The Cardinals emailed me asking if I wanted advanced details on this schedule release video.
I said sure. First time ever a team has proactively reached out.
The premise sounded awful.
Did they know it was going to bomb and wanted to sell it? Or did the actually think… https://t.co/qqdoRc8OeO
— Ben Koo (@bkoo) May 15, 2026
If the goal was to gain a ton of impressions with an intentionally bad video, then Big Red certainly took the assignment too seriously. If it’s the other, then they missed the mark by a pretty wide margin.
The Cardinals not only got roasted by their own fan base but also by other teams. Donnie Druin of Arizona Cardinals on SI chronicled how Arizona’s 2026 opponents view the franchise.
Cardinals fan Rob Elderton published his own schedule release video in response to the team’s video.
The Cardinals never stop disappointing me, the Schedule Release Video is no exception. But I expected this, so I prepared a much better Alternative Release Video. Tired of constantly being mediocre @BoBrack @JohnnyVenerable @PatMcAfeeShow @MrAzSports
It appears that Rob’s video took inspiration from Robot Chicken and is about six minutes long.
NFL schedule videos aside, the Cardinals face an uphill battle in 2026. The harsh reality is that the Cardinals have a first-time head coach, no quarterback solution in either the short or long term, and no marketable stars. That’s why they didn’t land in any of the marquee time slots.
New head coach Mike LaFleur has his work cut out for him. The team has a brutal schedule, with seven games against teams that won a playoff game in 2025. Much of those games come early in the season, which will test LaFleur’s ability to lead sooner rather than later.
NFL.com lead draft writer Eric Edholm named the Cardinals’ head coach as one of four “losers” in his reaction piece from the schedule release.
Some are willing to take a silver lining with the Cardinals’ 2026 schedule. Arizona sports podcaster Benjamin Garcia of the “Ben Garcia Show” is one of them. He explains his reasoning.
I love the structure of the Cardinals schedule given the gauntlet of opponents.
✅ No national games (same weekly schedule) ✅ Likely no bad weather games ✅ Easier schedule to finish (carry momentum to 2027) ✅ Test LaFleur early ❌ Week 14 bye week sucks
Not too bad.
Garcia predicted five wins for Arizona in 2026 in a reply.
Alex Clancy of “Locked In Arizona Cardinals” shares the same opinion as Garcia.
If the Arizona Cardinals schedule leaks are accurate, it’s a PERFECT setup for them in 2026.
Very difficult early on. Eases up in the back part of the season.
No primetime games. Circadian rhythm in place playing on Sundays only. No extra outside noise.
If the Cardinals can survive their early-season gauntlet against a litany of 2025 playoff teams, they could build momentum into 2027. However, the odds of them landing the No. 1 overall pick seem to be higher.
Michael McDermott Michael McDermott is a writer at Heavy Sports covering the Arizona Diamondbacks and Major League Baseball. Michael has 10 years experience writing about the D-backs and their farm system for AZ Snake Pit, Burn City Sports, and Diamondbacks On SI. More about Michael McDermott
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